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Author Notes: Coquette Cafe in MKE has a wonderful green salad with buttermilk and hazelnuts. I tried to recreate a version at home with the addition of tarragon and shallots in the dressing, sliced red pears beneath, and crunchy pink sea salt on top (this may be my favorite part). - Jennifer Ann

Food52 Review: What's great about this salad is that it combines the robust flavors of fall -- pears and hazelnuts -- with an elegant salad green -- Boston lettuce -- and a succinct and tangy buttermilk dressing. So when you eat it, there are rich bits followed by bright bits and flashes of sweetness, and the whole thing is a delight to eat. Use two small heads of lettuce and small pears. - A&M - The Editors

Serves 4

Fresh Tarragon Buttermilk Dressing

3tablespoons buttermilk

2tablespoons mayonnaise

1.5teaspoons olive oil

1teaspoon minced shallot

1.5teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon

freshly ground black pepper (4-5 turns on the mill - finest setting)

salt (3-4 turns on the mill - finest setting)

Whisk together buttermilk and mayonnaise until smooth; whisk in olive oil until well incorporated; add shallot, tarragon, salt and pepper.

Roast hazelnuts in a single layer in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes, or until they start to lightly brown; remove from oven, and roll hazelnuts in dish towel to remove the papery skins; allow hazelnuts to cool, then coarsely chop and set aside

Thinly slice the pears, being sure to keep a good sliver of the red peel on each slice; arrange the pears in a single layer on 4 salad plates, with the peel edges facing outward

Toss the lettuce in about half the dressing, adding more, as necessary, to nicely coat all pieces; pile the lettuce in a tall mound on top of the pears (be sure to keep the red pear peals visible)

Top each salad with freshly ground pepper, a small handful of the toasted hazelnuts, and a little pinch of the crunchy sea salt.

I was looking for a buttermilk tarragon recipe to make tarragon chicken salad and discovered your website. Wow! Lots of very appealing recipes here and I look forward to trying some more. The dressing made a very tasty chicken salad. I have to keep my fat intake pretty low, so I substituted fat free mayo for the regular. Since the fat free is sweeter tasting that regular, I added a tsp of vinegar to even it out. Next time, I will probably use lemon juice, but didn't have any lemons on hand. I doubled the recipe so I would have some left to try on an actual salad. Any suggestions for a summer version of this salad since pears aren't in season now? Thanks!

What a simple, elegant salad! And to my mind, simple + elegant = perfect. I made this last night, when I noticed that my tarragon needed trimming, and I had no other special plans for the evening's salad. I used a Bartlett because that was all I had on hand, and lightly toasted walnuts because I had no hazelnuts, and added a diced Persian cucumber because I wanted a bit more crunch. Utterly delicious!! I'm glad to have found this, which I am certain to be making again! ;o)

I tried this last night and was underwhelmed. It wanted something more - prosciutto or dried cranberries were some of the suggestions at our table. There wasn't enough contrast in the flavors. Not a bad salad, just not vote-worthy.